Heroes to Legends
by Richard B. Sampson Jr
Summary: These are the tales of the heroes from Gauntlet Dark Legacy, before the became the heroes. The were many other parts planned, but has been put on the back burner.
1. Forsaken Hero

Forsaken Hero   
(This story is based off characters from the game Gauntlet: Dark Legacy.   
The events of this story take place before the game.)   
===================================================== 

As I walked through the graveyard, I could not help but feel the eyes of the other townsfolk on me. I know they still blamed me for everything that had gone wrong. After my brother's death so many years ago, things appeared to be going wrong. All my spells had been backfiring, more now than they had use to. It's as if my brother's accident started a terrible chain reaction. As I approached the Masoleum door, I looked up, and said, "Why did you walk in on me, brother? Why did you do that?" I wondered if my brother had had some sort of death wish that day. I had worked with a new spell, and knew there were risks involve, and didn't want anyone hurt. Now, because of that, the fields had been poisened, and a zombie occasionally came to life.   
As I walked into the Masoleum, I could swear I heard outside the door, "She must plan to ransack the dead, or ruin her brother's body more than she had."   
I was almost appauled at what they had said, but it was true. When I had finally reversed what I had done to him, he was dead. I heard a second, kinder villager say, "I think she is going to pay respects. It has been five years, and she carries the Book of Protection. If she was evil, she could not hold such a book." It had been nice of that villager to say I wasn't evil, but most still thought that since I used magic, I was evil. If I had been a Wizard instead of a Sorceress. If I was a male magic user, I would have respect, but since I was a woman, they feared me. Even before what happened to my brother, I was feared, but I had more respect. I honestly think the loss of their respect happened when I lost my brother. I still remember that day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I looked at the spell book that I had been studying. It had said that in our world were eight realms, and a temple to worship from. It also said that every so many years, a hero of the realms was capable of becoming a legend. One of the first traits of these chosen heroes was the ability to alter forms. Another was the ability to use special techniques. I looked over the information about altered forms and that each realm had a chosen form. For my realm, which was dubbed the Province, it was the Medusa. I knew enough about creatures to know that a Medusa could change creatures to stone at a glance. This was one thing that I didn't want to risk. I walked to the door to my building, and said to a nearby villager. "Ma'am. I need you to do me a favor. I will be testing a spell in here, and it is absolutely imparitive that I not be disturbed. Do you understand?"   
It had been one of the nicer villagers in town as she nodded and said, "I understand. A Sorceress should not be disturbed when testing new spells. If anything goes wrong, who should I call for help."   
I thought for a moment. Who could she call for help? Then I looked at the book. It had been writen by the Mage Sumner. He was a legendary practitioner of Magic, and knew more than anyone could ever know. "Have someone go and fetch Sumner. He will know what to do." She nodded and I closed the door.   
I walked over to the book and read on how a person from my realm could access this form. First, it said one must have a heart of good. That was one thing I was sure I had. I had never done anything out of spite. Next was I had to reach the beast inside of me. The next was to have a legendary item nearby. It was listed that for the Province, it was a book know as the Book of Protection. The last requirement was the one I doubted most. It required the pressense, in physical form, or in spiritual form, of an evil that would only threaten the realm. The book gave no reference on what it could be, but something made me think it was in the graveyard if it existed. My workshop was near the graveyard, since I hunted mushrooms from there. I closed my eyes and then focused on all of those items. As I focused on my spell, I felt it taking affect. I felt my hair changing, and my body shifting in form. It felt odd. I also wanted to yell out in pain, but kept myself from doing that. I propped myself up at the table as the spell started to finish its task. I had indeed changed form. I wish I could have looked at myself in a mirror, but I was afraid I would turn to stone. Then I heard the woman outside say, "You can't go in there, your sister said no one was to enter." My brother was outside.   
I then heard the door open as he said, "My sister will want to hear this." I heard him close the door and say, "Sister, I have found a powerful spell for you to look at." I felt him put his hand on my shoulder and spin me around. Then I saw the horror in his face, and felt the fear as he turned to stone. I quickly reverted back, hoping he would return to normal, but he didn't.   
I immediatly ran to the door and said, "Something terrible had happened. Someone go the tower and fetch Sumner. I need his help." Then I noticed that a look of fear was on everyone's face. They thought I had done something to my brother deliberately. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

When I neared the door in the Masoleum that lead to my family's crypt, I breifly shuddered. Would his spirit forgive that accident, and what had happened afterwords? I then thought back to what I had done to make matters worse. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

It had been almost a week since I asked for Sumner's help. All I got in return was that he was not in, and I had to try and correct my mistake myself. I had never preformed a spell to change a statue back to a person. I had to try my best. It had taken me a while, but I found a stone to flesh spell. I quickly prepared the spell, and hoped it would work. When I finally completed and preformed the spell. I watched in horror as he didn't turn into a living person, but a rotting corpse. When the full horror of the situation occured to me, I just shouted out "NOOOOO" Everyone came running in, to see the sight. I knew some blamed me, but others blamed my brother for ignoring my own warning. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I openned the door to the crypt and hoped for the best. As I walked in, I felt his presence in the room and said, "Brother. My dear brother. It is I, your sister. I'm sorry for what happened to you five years ago. You didn't deserve that to happen."   
I was almost shocked as I heard an unholy voice say, "That is what you think, dear sister. It went exactly as I had planned. I have almost become what I set out to be." I looked for the sourse of the voice and saw a form slowly rise up. He had turned into some undead creature.   
I started to step back and a hand grabbed my ankle. "What did I do to you?"   
I saw the erie form smile at me as it said, "Nothing, dear sister. Everything you did, did nothing to me. I did everything to myself. I have been doing this stuff for a long time. Even sabatoging your spells during my rest. The people never wised up, and now, when I leave this Masoleum, they will blame you." There was an otherworldly laugh, and I finally freed my ankle. I quickly pulled out the Book of Protection, and watched as a huge beam of light shot at the being that used to be my brother.   
As he yowled in pain, I just said, "You destroied my brother. What are you?"   
As I backed out of the crypt, I heard the creature say, "I am a Lich, and that book won't keep me here forever." When I slammed the door, there was only one thought in my mind. I had to warn the villagers. They had to know what to do.   
When I reached the outside, I was startled by how many people were there. I then saw the town leader walk up to me and say, "So, you tried to summon an undead creature."   
I shook my head and said, "No. Something had taken over the dead body of my brother. It called itself a Lich. If I hadn't used the Book of Protection, it would be here right now."   
The leader just looked at me and said, "A likely story. You tried to bring this creature to ruin us because of you own disgrace. Well, you no longer need worry about our Province. You are banished. You and your evil is banished." I felt them rip the book from my arms. Then they herded me to the exit of town.   
When they had me out of town, with nothing but my staff, I looked off in the distance to the tower. It was strange how it seemed to be an etherial entity. I then felt something calling me to the tower. As I started the long trek, I just said, "Sumner, I hope you can give me answers." 

The end of the Sorceress Story. 


	2. Beastly Barbarian

Beastly Barbarian   
(This story is based off characters from the game Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. The events of this story take place before the game.)   
===================================================== 

It was amazing. When I saw the beast fly across the sky, I knew we had found the lair of our prey. The Dragon had been terrorizing our moutain for a small time, but we were not afraid. My fellow warriors were going to bring the creature down. My one brother in arms held the Legendary Ice Axe, once held by the hero Untar. He was a legend among our people. And this Axe never melted, even in the Volcanic Caverns that lead to the Dragon's lair. The story said that the Hero Untar traded a scroll with a Dwarf from the Ice Domain to gain the magical axe. When I heard the tale, I heard that Untar threw that Axe right at a dragon, and froze it solid. Then he shattered it with one blow. I had even heard that Untar had become a beast during the battle. I thought that that part of the story was made up. I honestly didn't believe that people could turn into beasts. When we neared the tunnel to the cave the Dragon had taken for a lair, one of my fellow warriors said, "Today, we will destroy the beast, and become the objects of legends. Are you all with me?"   
I held up my Axe, along with the others in my group and said, "We all are with you. Death to the Dragon." We then ran up the tunnel and straight to the mouth of the Dragon's Lair. It looked like the Dragon was dead asleep. This might not be as hard as some of us thought.   
I then heard one of my fellow comrades say, "The Dragon is asleep, this shall be easy. We will not even have to use the Ice Axe." I had to agree. It did look that way, but something bothered me about it.   
It was then I noticed it. As the one who last spoke approached the Dragon, I noticed its one eye was open slightly. It knew we were here, and it knew to lure us into a false sense of security. I shouted out loud, "It's a trap, get away from the Dragon." It was then that the beast's head reared up. I knew what was coming and ducked behind I pile of rocks. While the others backed up, the Dragon openned it's mouth and torched all of them in it's evil flame.   
My friend, who carried the Ice Axe, fell aside of me. I was almost horrified by the state he was in. He looked at me, and managed to say, "It's all up to you."   
I was angered by it. I grabbed the Ice Axe, and I felt something happen. It must have been the pain caused by loss of my friends. The pain was brief and I looked up at the Dragon and said, "You will die." I then threw the Axe at the Dragon, and I was pleased when I saw it strike the creature. The Dragon turn into pure ice, but then I saw something which scared me. In the dragon, I saw a Minotaur, and then I fell backwards in shock, and saw it do the same. I had turned into the Minotaur, but I wasn't sure how. I sat back and focused on what had happened. I focused on what had happened and tried to change back.   
While I was lost on this, I heard a flapping of wings above me. I looked up and saw the Dragon, looking down at me. I could even tell it was weak. Then something odd happened. It spoke. It looked at me and said, "So you are like Untar, the one who killed my father. Mark my words, Warrior, I shall return, and no matter if you be man or minotaur, I will..." His words turned back into growls as I looked at my hands and noticed I was back to normal. Then, the Dragon flew off. It was the end of the beast, but I knew it would return.   
I walked over to where the Ice Axe now was and picked it up. I looked at my comrades and said, "The Dragon is gone, my fallen friends, and if he returns, I will destroy him. I vow this to all of you." Then I began the long walk to our village. 

***************************** 

When I finally returned to the village, all the people were cheering me. They had seen the Dragon fly off, and thought it wasn't going to return. Even the woman that was to be my wife congratulated me with a long kiss. When she ended the kiss, she held me and said, "Father wants to talk to you. He said it was important."   
I knew that I had to speak to her father. Her father was the leader of our group, and when he said it was important, it was. I just said, "What does he want to say to me, beloved?" I may have been a warrior, but I also had a heart of gold.   
She shook her head and said, "I do not know, but I do know that he said it was very important." I nodded and headed over to where they resided. To be called by the leader meant that something important was to happen. I did not know what it would be.   
When I finally entered his presense, I saw him smiling at me and said, "You have done well, lad. You have gotten rid of the Dragon, and lived up to the prophecy so far."   
I was puzzled by this and said, "What prophecy, my leader?"   
I saw his smile almost disappear as a serious look crossed his face. "It has been passed down for generations that Untar had made a prophecy when he returned from defeating the dragon he fought. He said that a hero like him would appear to face another dragon. Only could that hero drive off the dragon, but that hero would destory the dragon, and evils that were far greater."   
I was stunned. I didn't know what to say, but my betrothed did have something to say. She said, "Father, are you saying that the man I am to marry is a Legend."   
He nodded and said, "Indeed. I am sure that you have already been able to change into the form of a Minotaur." When I nodded in shock at how he knew, he said, "It happened when you held the Ice Axe and faced the Dragon. You have a pure heart, and in your anger of the fall of your comrades, you pulled out the beast inside. It is how the prophecy went."   
I nodded and said, "So what am I supposed to do." I was confused. I didn't understand all that had happened to me.   
The leader then said, "Do not worry, lad. I shall tell you when I tell everyone. Now enjoy your celebration." He then left the area, and my betrothed held me. I could tell she was worried about what would happen. I myself was worried about that as well, but I would do as my leader suggested. 

***************************** 

As the celebration came to an end, I stood with the leader and my betrothed at the front of the area. Everyone was still cheering my name, but this was the moment of truth. The leader was about to announce my fate to everyone. I stood almost at attention when the leader said, "My people, it brings me great pleasure to say that the Dragon is now gone. It gives me more pleasure that the hero that did it is the hero that the great Untar prophecied about." I heard everyone cheer at that. Then I noticed that our leader had a solemn look on his face. "However, it saddens me to say that before he can reach his true potential, he must head down to mystical tower at the base of our moutain. He must seek the help of the mage Sumner."   
I noticed that everyone looked disappointed and I knew why. I also knew that this was something that I had to do. I just said, "My leader, how do I get to the tower."   
The leader just pointed down the mountain and said, "Continue down until you reach the Vally of Fire. Once you cross that area, you will be near the tower. Sumner can then make you the hero you are to be."   
I nodded and said, "I shall return, to protect you all." I then turned to my betrothed and kissed her. When I ended the kiss, I said, "And when I return, we shall be husband and wife." I saw her smile when I said that. I then took my Axe and started down the mountain. As I left, I heard all the town cheer my name, and deep down, I hoped that the Dragon would not return while I was gone. 

End of the Warrior's Tale 


	3. Flight Of The Valkarie

Flight Of The Valkarie   
(This story is based off characters from the game Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. The events of this story take place before the game.)   
===================================================== 

If there was one thing I took seriously, it was my duties at the castle. It was true that I was one of the few women that the king and queen had selected for their Valkarie brigade, but I proved to be the best and was made leader. I took my post seriously, and I had very little off time. However, in my off time, I had found myself falling for one of the guards. We had met during one of our rounds, and during our off hours, we have been together. He brought a completeness to my life. I had even been considering asking my king and queen if he and I could wed. I know it would mean the end of my career, but I would gladly risk it. I have not been this happy in years. I was almost lost in that thought when I heard the alarm sound. Something was attacking the castle. As I ran through the halls, I saw my fellow Valkarie's come up along side me. As we headed to the outer wall, I said to one of them, "What is happening?"   
My second in command just said, "A chimera is attacking. It is just like the creature that attacked the castle long ago. The guards are fighting it right now."   
I felt my blood freeze when she said that. "All of the guards? How are they faring?"   
My third pointed toward the window and said, "I don't think they have much hope. Look." I looked out the window she pointed at and I was horrified at what I saw. The chimera had three heads, one of a snake, one of a lion and one of an eagle, but the most horrifing was that it picked up one guard in all three mouths and ripped him apart.   
Then I noticed the shield he had had. It was the man I had loved. When the Chimera ripped him apart, I shouted out, "NOOOOO!!!!" The monster killed the man I had loved.   
My second in command just put her hand on my shoulder and said, "I'm sorry for your loss, but we must fight that thing. We cannot let it destroy the castle." It was then I remembered some history of the castle. We had something to defeat it.   
I quickly got my wits back and said, "I'll be with you in a moment. I just remembered we have something in the Armoury that can stop this beast." I then ran down to the castle Armoury. I had to move as quickly as possible. Every moment I spent down here meant another moment that the Chimera could slaughter our kingdom. I ran through the amoury looking for the swords. When I reached that section, I looked over every sword there, muttering to myself, "Where is that Scimitar?"   
I was almost startled when I heard the queen say, "Are you looking for this?" I turned around to see her holding the Scimitar. She then said, "It's just like Rasha had predicted long ago. The Chimera would return, and his Scimitar would be needed to chase it away again. Hopefully, you will be able to do what he could not do. I have faith in you."   
When she offered me the Scimitar, I accepted it and said, "I hope to do you proud." I then felt strange, as if my body was changing. When it finally stopped, I looked at myself in a mirrored shield and saw that I had wings and feathers. I had become a Falconess.   
The queen looked at me and said, "It is true. You are a Legend." I knew what I had to do. I ran to the nearest window and flew out of it, with Rasha's Scimitar in hand. With luck, I could remove one of the heads of the Chimera.   
As I neared the beast, I could understand it, and I could tell each head had a distinct voice. One seemed to have a hiss in it, and that had to be the snake head. It just said, "You were right, these foolish creatures do make excellent snacks."   
I then heard the Eagle head say, "Indeed, and none of them can hurt us. They don't have the sword that killed our parent all those years before."   
It was then that the Chimera's Lion head looked in my direction and said, "I think we just ran across the new sword weilder."   
I flew closer and said, "I don't know how I can understand you, but you shall terrorize this castle no more."   
It was just as I was close that the Lion's head just said, "We are not as dumb as our predecessor. You shaltn't strike us." With those words, fire came from the Lion and singed my wings. I needed to land, and the Chimera took flight. As I landed, it flew off and said, "We shall meet again, and at that time, you will be our meat."   
As I touched down to the castle keep, I looked up at the Chimera and said, "We will fight again, monster, but I shall not be your meal." I then tried to fly, but the damage to my wings was too great. I then walked over to what was left of the man I loved. He was gone, no longer alive. I reverted back to my normal form and just sat by what was left of the man I loved. I needed to morn his passing. 

******************************* 

It had been hours since the Chimera's attack, and I still sat in the Keep. I still could not believe the events of the day. What had amazed me most was that I could understand that creature. Why could I understand that evil beast? I was almost started when I heard a voice say, "You have lost much, haven't you, my Valkarie?"   
I quickly stood up at attention and said, "Yes, I have sire. I should have acted quicker."   
My king just shook his head and said, "No, I don't think that would have helped. You see, you needed to awake the legend in you. Many years ago, Rasha said another Legend would be born. She never said when the second Legend would arrive." I was amazed. I had never known the Rasha was a Valkarie as well.   
I then heard the Queen say, "Indeed, when I saw you transform, I knew you were the chosen one of our realm. It is said that you will stop an evil far greater than our worlds have seen."   
I looked at them in amazement and said, "Far greater. How am I to defeat it?"   
The king then said, "The story states that you will not be alone. You will have help from the other realms, including our sister realm of the Sky Dominion. Right now, you must head to Sumner."   
I had heard of the legendary mage. I looked over at the King and Queen and said, "I have heard stories about him. How can he help me?"   
The queen then said, "Go to the etherial tower in our castle. At the very top is the bridge to Sumner's tower. He can direct you on your quest. The only thing I ask is that you leave the Scimitar here. It seems to have scared off the Chimera." I nodded and headed for the etherial tower.   
When I reached the base of the tower, I looked up. It looked as if it wasn't there, yet it was there. I started the long climb and said to myself, "Sumner, I hope you can help me do what I need to do." This was going to be a long journey, and I could feel the pains of this day plauging me. 

End of the Valkarie's tale. 


	4. Dark Cloud, Dark Knight

Dark Cloud, Dark Knight   
(This story is based off characters from the game Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. The events of this story take place before the game.)   
===================================================== 

The Sky Dominion had to be one of the most beautiful realms in my world. While most of my realm was in the sky, myself, and the other knights resided in the spire. The spire was a watchtower, and the only link with the sky structures and ships. As I kept watch around the spire, I noticed a dark cloud on the horizon. Something was not right. It looked as if a storm was coming, but it was not a rainstorm. The sky around the cloud was a sickly green color. There was a foul aura eminating from that cloud. It was poison, and it would ruin our realm. I ran to the alarm bell, and started to ring it. Soon, I heard the rest of the knights heading to the top of the spire. When they had all arrived, as well as our leader, I said, "It looks like something foul is coming."   
The leader of our group looked at the sky and said, "You are right. That cloud is too thick to be natural. I fear a plague is coming, like it did many years ago, when we lost Marker to the evil plague."   
I then heard one of the other knights say, "My liege, we must go up there and destroy it before it destroies all the realms."   
I had to agree, "He's right. We should destroy it, but first we need to know what we are going up against."   
I watched as our leader nodded and said, "Your suggestion is wise. You two will fly up to that cloud. Investigate it, and report back here. Only engage if it is absolutely needed."   
I nodded and said, "Our orders are understood, we shall depart right away." I then lead the way to one of the flyers moored on the spire. As I approached it, I heard my comrade-in-arms say, "Why did you suggest that? We need to stop it right away. A good knight would not allow this risk to remain."   
I looked at him and said, "A good knight would not go in to battle if he doesn't know what to expect. A good knight would discover what he is up against first." I noticed that he was not to thrilled with what I said, but it was the truth. He would get over it. 

******************************************** 

It had taken us a while for our flyer to reach the odd cloud. I was almost surprised when I saw that the cloud was actually a cover for a huge airship. As we began our initial pass, I heard my commrade say, "This device is huge, but it looks unmanned."   
Even I knew that looking unmanned and being unmanned was two different things. Eventually, I noticed a place where we could dock our flyer and said, "Appearences can be deceiving. If it is empty, we must stop it; but if it is not empty, we must get reinforcements."   
When the flyer was docked, my commrade just said, "Understood. We should meet in an hour, and if one of us doesn't return, we fetch the others." I nodded and watched as he ran off. I wanted to stop him from running, but this area was clear.   
When he was out of sight, I just shook my head and said, "Be careful, my friend." I then headed out onto the strange airship. I decided to be cautious, just in case I ran into any creatures aboard this strange craft.   
As I made my way up the decks, I heard a whispy voice say, "Hero." I quickly turned and looked around for the voice, but I could not see the source. When I started to search the deck I was on, I heard the voice again say, "Follow my voice, knight, for I need your help."   
This time, I listened to the voice and said, "Alright. Lead me to you." I didn't know what made me trust the voice, but something in me told me to trust it. Soon, the voice was leading me to the upper decks of the ship.   
Soon enough, I was face to face with a skeleton in a cage. It was then that the voice spoke again. "You have arrived. You are aboard the ship of the plague. Long ago, I battled the hideous Plague Fiend. It was a long battle, but after I blinded him, I thought I had destroied him. But the foul creature sent his body into the vats. His minions inprisoned me in here after I set this vessel to fly to the end of the sky, but they managed to adjust the course. That was years ago, and his minions died. Not to long ago, a figure appeared and reactivate the toxins. The Plague Fiend will return. Take my Javalin, blind the fiend, destroy him."   
I looked at the Javalin and finally understood who I was speaking with. "You are Marker. But who did you see."   
The voice then spoke again. "The figure is here, near the top of one of the vats. You must stop him, or the fiend will reawaken." Then it hit me. My commrade who was so insistant on coming up here wasn't hear to stop the ship. He wanted to bring back the toxic plague.   
I grabbed the Javalin and started to run, searching for that knight. I had to stop him. Soon enough I saw him, at the top of one of vats. He was fiddling with some controls. As I neared him, he turned to face me and said, "So you figured it out. You failed. Once I throw this switch, I shall have control over the whole world."   
I looked at him and said, "Not while I'm on watch." I threw my mace and it hit the controls. Soon the whole structure lurched, and I watched as my former commrade fell into the vats. I walked over to the consoles, only to see that I had jammed them, but they were heading away from the spire. I then said to myself, "At least that's over."   
It was at that time, two things happened. The first was a pain rip through my body. I felt like I was changing, and when the pain subsided, I could see by my reflection that I was a unicorn like creature. The second was a huge green monster oozed out of the vat and said, "You cannot defeat me. I shall succeed."   
I quickly spun around and said, "Not while I have Marker's Javalin." I hurled it at the one eyed fiend, and it struck its mark. The Plague Field appeared to be flailing around. I also knew I would need help. I saw the Javelin on the ground and picked it up. I ran as fast as I could.   
As I neared the glider, I heard the voice of the Plague Fiend say, "I will destroy you. You have not defeated me, just postponed the inevitable. I will claim your world." The words went through me as I departed on the flyer. As I few farther and farther away from the ship, I felt myself change back. I had a bad feeling about what was to come. 

******************************************** 

After I had arrived back at the spire and told my leader what had happened, I watched as he paced. He then said, "It appears that Marker was right. The Plague Field would return, and he intents to take over the Sky Dominion. I believe you are the only one who can stop it, but you need guidence."   
I looked at my leader and said, "Where should I go, my leige?"   
I watched as my leader pointed to a boat docked at the base of the spire. "That craft will take you to the mysterious tower of Sumner. He will be able to instruct you better. You may want to leave the Javalin here, in case we need to fend off the fiend." I nodded. The leader then said, "You will be able to destory the fiend. I have faith in you. Now hurry, and do not be slow."   
I saluted my leader and said, "I will not fail you." I then ran down to the boat. Other knights had prepared it for the journey, and I boarded it. Now all I need was time to be on my side. If it wasn't, I would fail, and the world could very well fall victim to the evil of the Plague Fiend. 

End 


End file.
